Femto cells—building-based wireless access points interfaced with a wired broadband network—are generally deployed to improve indoor wireless coverage provided by a wireless network operator. Femto cells typically operate in licensed portions of the electromagnetic spectrum, and generally offer plug-and-play installation; e.g., automatic configuration of femto access point. Improved indoor coverage includes stronger signal and improved reception (e.g., voice or sound), ease of session or call initiation and session or call retention as well. Coverage of a femto cell, or femto AP, is intended to be confined within the bounds of an indoor compound, in order to mitigate interference among mobile stations covered by a macro cell and terminals covered by the femto AP. Additionally, confined coverage can reduce cross-talk among terminals serviced by disparate, neighboring femto cells as well.
Coverage improvements via femto cells can also mitigate customer attrition as long as a favorable subscriber perception regarding voice coverage and other data services with substantive delay sensitivity is attained. A positive customer experience can depend on adequate access management to femto cell service. One issue facing femto cell service relates to managing access to the cell. For instance, in a home cell, how does one prevent neighbors or other users from inadvertent or improper access to the cell. One aspect is through encrypted passwords or other security means to access the cell. One drawback to this technique is that it is difficult to allow a certain class of users access to the cell while restricting a broader range of users. Thus, current systems may require users to share passwords or other security credentials in order to allow access for specified reasons. As can be appreciated, sharing security credentials is likely to reduce the overall security of the system since more than one user now can potentially compromise the system.